Parachute pack



Jan. 20, 1959 J. GREGORY 2,869,809

` PARACHUTE PACK Filed June ll, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jmes Gregor] J. GREGORY PARACHUTE PACK Jan. -20', 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June ll, 1956 im y Anne/wav;

J. GREGORY PARACHUTE PACK Jan. 20, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 1l. 1956 wwf/vra@ Ja. mes @ego/ y /l Trae/Vir;

PARACHUTE PACK James Gregory, Woking, England, assignor to G. Q. Parachute Company Limited, Woking, England, a British` company This invention relates to parachute packs for aviators.

It is already known from Unitedu States Patent No. 2,256,597, issued September 23, 1941, to J. R. C. Quilter and myself, to provide a liying suit or garment having its back portion arranged to contain main and pilot parachutes, the canopy of the main parachute being stowed at least partly in one or more pockets at the back of the thighs and across the seat below the waist level, the shroud lines being supported o-n the back of the garment at about the waist level, and the pilot parachute being stowed over the main closure iiaps covering the main parachute and shroud lines, these ilaps and two smaller external aps over the pilot parachute being normally held in closed position by locking cones controlled by rip-cord pins or the like.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a pack which will be thin and iiexible when the parachute is packed therein, the packing being necessarily loose in order to secure flexibility. With a parachute so loosely packed as to remain soft and iiexible, it is normally found diiicult to hold the parachute properly disposed 35 within the pack, inasmuch as the canopy tends to fall towards the lower end of the pack.

Accordingly, a specific object of the invention is to provide a pack in which the main bulk of the packed parachute canopy is broken up into a number of small rolls, lying parallel to one another, and connected in zigzag manner to form bends which are stowed in openmouthed pockets arranged side-by-side in two opposing series upon the base of the pack.

A further object is to provide a pack comprising a con* tainer having a base member and two opposing series of pockets flexibly attached to the base member, the mouths of the pockets in one series opening towards the other series, so that the folded parachute canopy can be stowed in a substantially zigzag manner in the two series of ro pockets.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will hereinafter appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment, given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: r

Fig. l is a rear view of a flying overall suit with the parachute pack mounted upon the back of the garment.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the pack with the closure flaps released, an auxiliary or pilot parachute for the withdrawal of the main parachute canopy being shown diagrammatically as having been expelled by its opening spring upon release of the iiaps.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the interior of the pack, showing two opposed series of pockets into which the main canopy is stowed.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the pockets secured inside the pack, and

Fig. 5 is a section on the line V-V of Fig. 4.

As shown in Fig. l, the overall suit 10, which is provided with sleeves 11 for the arms of the wearer and trousers 12 for his legs, has the parachute pack mounted upon the back of the garment, for example by stitching ice through the edges of the pack and around the back of the garment. The pack comprises a container formed by a base 13, made for example of canvas or like flexible material, and two main closure flaps 14 'which overlap on the vertical center-line, their free edges being fitted with eyelets 15 which engage upon conventional locking cones 16 attached to the base 1,3, and the usual rip-cord` 17 being employed to secure the iiaps in closed positionA by means of these locking cones. The upper ends of the ilaps i4 are also fitted with` press-studs .18'for engagev ment upon a looped strap 19 secured at its ends to the top of the base, and with other press-studs 2t) for engagement at the back of the garmentcollar 21, which is normally covered by a pillow member 22 containing an inflatable bag for life-saving purposes. The rip-cord 17 is carried by the outer lap 14 near its lower end, the other ilap having its lower end tucked loosely inside that of the outer one. When the rip-cord is operated, the two iaps le are freed from the locking conesl, and can open out for release of the parachute contained in the pack. ln the present instance, the main parachute is arranged to be Withdrawn from the pack by means of a pilotparachute 23, shown in Fig. 2 as having been expelled from the pack; this pilot parachute is preferably provided with vanes or gusset pieces, a coiled opening spring enclosed in a tubular bag or stocking and a kicker board orseparator 24 attached to the cord 25 connecting the shroud lines of the pilot parachute to the apex of the main parachute canopy, as described in United States Patents Nos. 2,299,407 and 2,299,408, both issued October 20, 1942, to l. R. C. Quilter.

The main parachute canopy 26 is stowed. in two opposing series of pockets 2.7 inside the container, these pockets being made of light fabric and having their outer closed ends 28 secured to the container base 13 in a flexible manner, for example (as shown in Figs. 3 and 4) by stitching along side seams 29 which also connect the closure ilaps 14 to the base of the pack. The inner ends of the pockets 27 are open, forming mouths which open towards those of the other series of pockets, while being free to move relatively thereto, so that the folded canopy 26 can be stowed in a substantially zigzag manner in the two series of pockets, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3. The two series of pockets are separated by a substantial gap, which in creases the flexibility of the pack.

By Way of example, the container base 13 may be approximately rectangular covering a relatively large area represented by the whole of the back of the flying suit itl, so that the pack will be relatively thin, and it may be provided with six pockets 27, three on each side, the mouths of the pockets facing one another in pairs at successive levels. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the three pockets of each series are connected together along their adjacent edges 3h, but they may be entirely separate. If desired, an end closure flap or ilaps may be provided at one or both ends of the pack, but such provision is not necessary with the construction described, because the press-studs 18 and Ztl enable the pack to open up automatically as far as the collar 21, as soon as the locking cones have been released and the pilot parachute stowed over the main parachute and becoming expanded by its opening spring has forced the aps 14 oit the cones, the lower end of the container being stitched to the base 13 and therefore remaining closed.

The pilot parachute cord 25 is connected to the apex of the main canopy by engagement with a number of lines 31formed for example by the shroud lines crossing the vent opening, this portion of the canopy being shown in Fig. 2 as hunched beneath the strap i9 at the top of the pack; the pull of the lines 31 draws out the main canopy which disengages itself by withdrawal from each pocket 27 in turn, rst on one side of the container and then on the other, the strap 19 lying loosely over it, as seen in Fig. 2, and the locking cones 16 underneath it offering no obstacle to such withdrawal. When the hem of the canopy is disengaged from the last of the pockets, the pull is transferred to the shroud lines 32 which are stowed in zigzag manner between looped tapes 33 attached to the base 13 of the pack, as seen in Fig. 4; upon extraction of the shroudlines, the pull will be taken by lift webs located for example in the lining of the garment, in the well-known manner.

The effect of this arrangement is to break up the mass of the packed parachute into a number of small rolls, lying parallel to one another, and connected in pairs inside the pockets 27, each roll being ilexible in itself and flexibly jointed to its neighbours, and the pockets being also exibly connected to the base 13.

The invention is more especially intended for parachute packs suitable for application to garments such as ying overalls or the like, where the pack can be spread over a relatively large area represented by the whole of the back of the garment, but the invention is not limited to packs for use with such garments.

What I claim is:

1. A parachute pack comprising a container having a base member, a plurality of open-mouthed pockets with closed sides and having closed ends attached to said base member, said pockets being arranged side-by-Side to form two opposing series with the mouths of the pockets in one series opening towards the mouths of the pockets in the other series, whereby a folded parachute canopy can be stowed in a substantially zigzag manner in the two series of pockets.

2. A parachute pack comprising a container having a base member, two opposing series of open-mouthed pockets with closed sides and closed ends, the pockets of the respective series being arranged side-by-side with their closed ends attached to opposite sides of said base member, and said series of pockets having their mouths opening towards one another for reception of a folded parachute canopy stowed in substantially zigzag manner in said opposing series of pockets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,290,218 Vo-sseler July 21, 1942 2,331,727 Quilter et al Oct. 12, 1943 2,337,168 Smith Dec. 21, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 931,870 Germany Aug. 18, 1955 

